“What do you want?!” I immediately scream, wasting no time in slamming my fists hard against his back. He doesn't budge.Instead, the hard muscles on his back tense, his grip tightening too, and I hear the other man’s steps quicken. He then tugs the sleek door of the SUV open. The one carrying me mimics his ally's pace and we’re nearing the door of the SUV. This doesn’t look good.
Shit. I’m losing time.
“Let me go! I didn’t do anything! You have the wrong person!” I scream again, but this time, my screams are muffled with a hand over my mouth.
My mind desperately screams for an escape as he roughly shoves me into the backseat of the car amidst my struggles. I don't have time to shuffle up when the men join me on either side.
I’m suddenly sandwiched between both men. There's no way out.
Oh my God! I’m actually being kidnapped.
My heart slams against my ribcage as my eyes dart around the dark car for any means of escape. I can now barely make out the silhouette of the men. I can barely even make out —
“We meet again, Raven.” A voice interrupts my thoughts from the front passenger’s seat. I freeze, a zap of chill working through my ribs at the smoothness.
I know that voice. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
Clenching my fist, I suck in a sharp breath and dare to look. Cold, icy green eyes meet my panicked brown ones. I almost forget how to breathe.
It’s him. It’s Ezra Marino.
“E- Ezra?” I blink when I regain my breath, confusion thickening my voice.
He says nothing but brings a deadpan glare from my trembling hands to my face. Something about him is different. I can feel it.
“Why–” I start, but he cuts me off.
“Don’t.”
I wince at the thickness of his words. This has to be a joke. Some sort of prank, right? I glance at every corner of the car again, my heart dropping when I realize there's no way out. Maybe this is what fuels my confidence.
“Look,” I release a breath, batting the sweat on my palm against my pants. “First, I have the right to talk. And, second, what in God's name is going on?”
He doesn't look too entertained by my words. I vaguely make out the smooth structure of his clenched jaw. He’s angry, that much I can tell. But so am I.
“I think you have the wrong girl here.” I raise my hands to both sides of my ears to stop this nonsense. “I'm a doctor and have nothing to do with any of this.”
“Falla tacere(Silence her),” he replies almost immediately.
“What?”
Before I can say anything else, Ezra returns his attention to the road. The two men start to close in on me. Suddenly, fear turns into panic.
I open my mouth wide and scream like a banshee, the sound tearing through the stillness of the car. The car lurches forward as the driver increases speed. A pit forms in my stomach.
“You won’t get away with this. My friend will find you…”
“Ho detto falla tacer! Maledizione!(I said shut her up! Dammit!)”
“Let me go!” I screech.
The two men pin me down in an instant with hands like iron. I try to flail my arm and raise my legs, but it’s no use. They are too strong.
One of them pulls out a roll of tape. I know what he wants to do, so I immediately fling my head from side to side. Another man grunts and clamps my head in place before pressing the tape over my mouth. As if that isn’t enough, he proceeds to bind myhands behind my back and then ransacks my small handbag for my phone.
Tears of frustration and fear blur my vision until it’s totally obstructed. I feel a sack over my head, and that's when I lose all hope.
The reality dawns on me. I’m being kidnapped by my one-night stand.